The Olympics is over and the parades have started, India welcomed back their Olympic heroes with huge love and affection. Even among the other athletes who did not reach the podiums could not be faulted for their efforts, anyone who had seen the games can only feel proud of their hard work and effort. Then we have the medal winner Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu and also with a special mention to Dipa Karmakar who won more than many hearts for her spirited performance that fetched her 4th place.

Among the others who came close to a podium finish includes1. Mixed Doubles: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost the bronze medal playoffs to Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic.

2. Abhinav Bindra finished 4th in the finals in the 10m Air rifle.

3. Lalita Babar finished 10th in final in the Women’s 3000m steeplechase.

A Sneak peak into the medals table
India with one silver and one bronze ranked 67th in the medal table. To put things in perspective, let us look at some countries which finished ahead of India.

China has one thing which can be compared to India i.e., population. It finished fourth in the table and it was reported that Chinese performance at the Rio Olympics was considered as a flop show by the Chinese media.

Brazil with all the challenges with respect to economy and poverty finished 13th.

Kenya with a low Life expectancy at birth (45.2 in 2002) and with an HDI rank of 148 finished 15th in the medals tally.

Countries like Venezuela (whose economy is spiralling out of control with high inflation), island nations (Singapore, Fiji, Bahamas, Bahrain, Cuba), war-torn nations (Kosovo), sanctioned countries (Iran ranked 25, North Korea ranked 34), poor African nations ( Ethiopia) and a host of other small countries finished above India. Some questions do arise based on the above numbers.

Do these countries take sports more seriously?

Do these countries have a better talent pool than India?

Should we take Olympics seriously and chart out a plan to win more medals in the coming Olympics?

Can large investments in sports be accommodated within our budget?

Or can the government support private initiatives like that of Gopichand to bring out talents in sports?

This and more questions should be raised by concerned citizens and stakeholders and create a vision for future of sports in India. India as a nation has its reasons to celebrate and its reasons to introspect. While the citizens of the country are very passionate to know about what as a country we have achieved in the global stage, there is lack of will at a policy level on the future course of sports in India. There are barely any sponsors and viewers for many of the games in India. The amount of money doled out by various governments for winners of games in short notice is pretty amazing given the miserly investments the governments allocate towards sports and what more the most followed game in India does not even feature in the Olympics i.e., Cricket. Both governments and citizens have to encourage other games to flourish economically for more talents to take the leap towards sports. It is what we cheer for and what we invest on that will define the future of sports in India. The onus in on all of us.

Indian Shooters Win Four Gold Medals In ISSF Junior World Cup

Partner Story

Know Why This Small Town In Tamil Nadu Is In The Guinness Book Of World Records

Did you know there is a town at the southern tip of India that can be called ‘Heaven on Earth’. Its people realise the importance of keeping the environment clean.

Madukkarai Panchayat in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, is the cleanest place in India, owing to around 50 women who wake up every day to collect waste from each and every household in the town. At 6 AM, the women set out to work with their green jackets on, hands covered in gloves and caps adjusted perfectly on their heads. Every morning they line up for the roll call. These ‘Green Friends’ are part of the solid waste management program supported by ACC Cement – Madukkarai.

Madukkarai, a small town at the tip of the country, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world. With the help of around 50 women, who are now called ‘Green Friends’, and a simple, scalable model, this town is leading the way for efficient waste management. #SwachhBharat

While most of us find someone to put the blame on, Madukkarai decided to take control in their own hands. The town has 8,000 households and a population of 42,000. 82% of the homes hand over garbage to ‘Green Friends’ every day. 1,440 tonnes of garbage is collected annually from the town of 18 wards and 107 streets.

There is a lot that we can learn from Madukkarai. One of the most disturbing realities that we face, despite which part of the country we reside in, is the similar dirt everywhere – garbage piled up on roadside, drains clogged with plastic bags and dogs chewing on the leftover food we have callously thrown on the streets.

We keep our homes clean; make sure that the floors are mopped every day. But why do we not share the same sentiment for our surroundings? We hardly realize that the street outside our home is as much ours as is anybody else’s. We are the ones who use these roads every day to commute. Madukkarai realized this and the importance of a clean environment for our health and well-being.

Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world

‘Green Friends’ collect household wastes in eight different bins for wet waste, kitchen waste, plastic waste, etc. This is then disposed in large bins kept in several parts of the town. Trucks pick up this waste daily and take it to the resource recovery park where the garbage is recycled.

The treatment center segregates the different types of wastes. The kitchen waste is converted into fertilizers and given to farmers at extremely low prices to use in cultivation of their crops. The plastic waste is processed to be used in the construction of roads, and also at the large ACC factory where it is used as fuel at high temperatures which does not even cause pollution.

Due to the efforts of ‘Green Friends’, the citizens of Madukkarai, and the municipality, there has been a 60% reduction in landfill waste over the span of three years. There has also been a 50% reduction in the vehicle movement to the landfill sites, 85% of organic waste is converted successfully into vermin compost, ample reduction in the use of fossil fuels, reduction in greenhouse gas emission to 60%, and substantial decrease in the spread of malaria and dengue among the people. Furthermore, barren lands provided for compost yard have been successfully converted into fully functional organic compost yard and non-recyclable waste is used as an alternative energy source for the cement industry.

Madukkarai’s citizens have also become more environment-friendly, with 30% of the households segregating the organic-recyclable waste at home.

What we can learn

Madukkarai has paved the way to the sustainable development of our world. They have shown us that is not impossible to keep our environment clean. All we need is to inculcate in us a concern for mother Earth. It is commendable that ACC is supporting Madukkarai in its venture and helping it stay clean.

We, as citizens of other towns, cities, villages and states in India, have a lot to learn from Madukkarai. We too can have a healthier life if only we care enough and practice our civil duties proudly.